Neil is the Higgs Chair of Theoretical Physics at the University of Edinburgh. After studies in Cambridge and Imperial, he became Professor of Physics at Princeton, Chair of Mathematical Physics at Cambridge and Director of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada, where he still holds the Roger Penrose Visiting Research Chair. Neil develops and tests theories of the universe and its basic laws, from the big bang to the future. His team predicted the observed correlations between the galaxy distribution and the cosmic microwave background.
In 2003, Neil founded the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). AIMS’s six centres, in South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon and Rwanda have over 4,000 Master’s and PhD alumni. Neil won a TED Prize and honorary doctorates from nine universities. His book, The Universe Within: From Quantum to Cosmos won Canada’s top prize for popular science writing. He won the John Torrence Tate award of the American Institute of Physics for international leadership in physics, is an Honorary Fellow of the UK Institute of Physics, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Professional position
- Higgs Chair of Theoretical Physics, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh
